Glance
by alchemic-rose
Summary: 'Where am I' Jade knew she wasn't at the club, where she had just been. 'What happened' She remembered having a pounding headache, then… oh. She blacked out. Someone had caught her from falling off the stool. There had been voices. Jade was about to ask the blonde what happened and where she was, but she couldn't speak. She was paralyzed. College AU. Clubbing. TRIGGER WARNING.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: _**_To say again, this is a *trigger* fic. Drugged rape happens everyday, and it is not a subject to be taken lightly or used as a flippant literary theme. I want to address the issue in this fic, using relatable characters that people ( I assume) are fond of. PLEASE be mindful and aware of your surroundings when you are out partying or clubbing. -AR  
_

Jade hopped off the bus with her group of classmates, looking apprehensively about. They'd taken the shuttle from campus into downtown to walk the streets, and hit a few clubs. Growing up in a more rural part of the country, she was still a bit dazzled every time she made a trip into busy downtown Houston. Keeping close to the group, the majority being natives of Houston, they made their way downtown. After a few hours of window shopping, the sun finally dipped past the horizon and clubs began to open. They picked a club that the group had frequented many times before, and flashed their ID's. Jade fumbled a bit with her bag as she showed her ID as well, before walking through the doors into the noisy room. She looked up as soon as she put away her card and glanced about, stilling in the doorway for a moment as she got her bearings of the place.

* * *

Dave stirred his drink. He'd been a regular at this club for who knows how long, living just around the corner and up a few floors with his Bro; so naturally this was like an in-house bar. His Bro had brought him here well before the drinking age to put his attendance in perspective. On nights off, his Bro lounged here, but seeing as he worked most of the week and traveled, Dave had the two-room apartment to himself for most of the time. This had been a regular pattern since he'd hit high school. Now in college, he was able to commute effectively from his home to school, so he felt no need to move out and spend the extra cash living in the dorms. Not that he'd want to be in the dorms with the rest of the freshmeat anyways. He was sociable, but he had his living standards. Plus, he doubted his sword collection would be permitted across the threshold of the building. As he took a shot, he saw more people enter the club, college kids like himself, and regulars to the club. One from their party seemed to linger behind a bit, standing in the entryway as she looked about the place, brushing a strand of dark hair over her shoulder. A newbie, he guessed from her apprehensive glance. She had a cute face, not pasted with makeup like the usual clubbers were masked with. Her outfit reflected her "non-clubbing" vibe as well, though did not scream sheltered and celibate. She looked a little naïve as well, probably a rural or suburb girl, transferred to a big city for school. He gulped down the rest of his drink and slid it to the bartender, who now was more like and uncle to him, before sauntering off towards the dance floor.

* * *

Slowly, she made her way through the crowded room, following one of her classmates to the bar. She ordered a mango margarita and sat with her, drinking and taking in the clubbing scene. After a couple of sips, the two went out on the floor and danced a bit. Jade had fun for the most part, she always like getting a bit rambunctious, but kept bumping into people. After getting jostled about a bit too many times, she retired to the bar again. She didn't really talk to anyone beside her classmates, who periodically came up to check on her and encourage her to come back and dance, as well as get a few more drinks. After a few more attempts at dancing for duration of a few songs, she decided she was done. It was getting more and more claustrophobic as people drank more and more, and crowded onto the floor.

* * *

Dancing wasn't his best skill, but he didn't suck at it. Living up to his name he could stride, more or less. He thought dancing was similar to fighting (in a way.)Two parties, each making moves against each other while at the same time becoming a single unit. He translated it in his own way. Dave ran into a lot of his "family friends", aka frequenters to the club. He chatted here and there, got hit on, drank a few shots… it was the usual Friday night for him. The only thing that wasn't in his norm was the occasional glance to identify the whereabouts certain raven-haired newbie whom he couldn't shake from his head.

* * *

It was encroaching upon 1 in the morning, almost the height of the evening when Jade started to feel a bit tired. She hadn't drunk too much, just about a glass and a half of her margarita flavor of the night. She swirled her second drink around with the small stirring stick, watching the colours meld together when one of her classmates tapped her shoulder. She turned her attention towards him, removing a hand from the glass. He told her they would leave in an hour or so, as many of the students were still partying hard. She sighed, and told him she'd be here. He nodded and returned to the dance floor. Jade turned back to her glass and took another drink of it. She swirled it again and took another sip, enjoying the sweet taste of mango. She watched her peers and the other people dance, listening to the songs that played. After about a half hour, the DJ seemed to have upped the playlist to the height of the night set. She winced as she felt a bout of a headache set in.

"Ugh, great."

She muttered, her tongue felt thick and clumsy, and her speech sounded slow. Her brow furrowed and she shook her head. Rather than clear her head, this brought on more dizziness. She hadn't drunk that much, so why was she feeling this crappy? The room spun and she swooned from her stool. Someone caught her before she could drop to the floor. The smell of heavy cologne filled her nostrils before she blacked out into a hazed state.


	2. Chapter 2

Dave handed the record to the DJ; one of his own mixes for the height of the night. The DJ smiled, always happy to play his tracks, and asked if she could burn it onto one her discs.

"Of course!" He said with a smirk. "You do it anyway, yet you still ask me every time."

She smiled back at him, her dimple piercings shining against her dark skin.

"A matter of formality..." She said in a snotty voice.

He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Of course.", he replied in a similar mocking tone before turning his eyes to scan the room again from the elevated position of the DJ "roost".

He felt pretty comfortable up in the roost, music blasting all around him, observing the crowd below. Plus, the regular DJ for this club was a pretty chill chick who was content to play his mixes and occasionally have rap battles with. His beats started to play as his eyes scanned from the writing crown below to the bar behind it. Newbie was still chilling in her spot she had parked her behind for most of the night. He smirked.

'Wall flower much?'

His eyes scanned towards the front entrance when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A man stood where newbie had been sitting earlier. Dave's eyes narrowed when he saw that she had passed out, and the man was holding her up. That man was not in the group of college kids that had entered the club with her... nor had he seen the guy talking to her at any time this night. The blonde left the DJ booth and began to walk towards the odd couple, concern building in his gut feeling. He quickly dismissed the idea of her being drunk, only one empty martini glass was before her and the other half full. As he got closer, the man began to move towards the bathrooms, which were located near the rear entrance. The girl was completely out, one arm draped over the guy's shoulder, his hand gripping her arm; his other hand, Dave gritted his teeth at the sight, was under her arm and clearly groping her breast. He had about two guesses about this man's intentions towards the girl, both of which he was not cool with… AT ALL. He sped up his pace and intercepted the pair, masking his disgust and anger with a poker face.

"Hey, thanks for helping but I think I can take care of her now." He stood in front of the man, who exceeded his height by a few inches, blocking his path and reached out an arm towards the girl. .

The man looked at him suspiciously, eying him up and down before answering.

"No... we're fine young man, you go back to your dancing and drinking. This little lady told me to take her to the bathroom before she passed out."

Dave looked him straight in the eye, and added force to his voice, extracting most of the friendly tone he had before.

"No, really, our ride is leaving any moment. She can sober up once we get back to our dorms."

He threw a glance behind the man and caught the gaze of the bartender before flicking his eyes to the man gesturing there might be trouble. His "uncle" nodded in response. Dave returned his gaze to the man in front of him, who glanced over his shoulder to see the bar tender looking at him as well. He returned his glare to Dave for a few minutes before forcing a smile.

"Don't want you two to miss your ride."

Dave grimaced in return, a complete 'you-sick-bastard' smile.

The man handed off the unconscious girl to Dave, who put an arm around her, holding her up under the armpit. 'Holy shit, she's completely out cold.' He thought as her dead weight came on his shoulders. The man smiled a hollowly.

"Have a good night" he said before turning away, giving the blonde a completely venomous glare.

Dave bored holes in the man's back with his eyes, fuming on the inside, before catching the bartender's glance again and jerking his head towards the retreating man. 'Card that sick fuck.' The bartender nodded towards the surly bouncer who nodded in return and moved towards his target to ask him for some identification.

Dave turned from the man, not wanting to look at him anymore. He was beyond disgusted at the thought of what could have happened to her. He walked over to the bar, carrying her along with him and leaned over to talk to the man over the counter.

"I'm going to take her to my place so she can recover. That bastard drugged her up pretty hard."

His uncle nodded solemnly, with understanding. Dave shifted his grip on her waist before continuing.

"Give my number to anyone from her group who comes looking for her."

The man nodded again. "Of course…" he picked up a glass to clean. "It's a sick world we live in Dave. She was just one of the lucky, unlucky ones."

Dave frowned at the comment. "Goodnight." He said, and then walked out the front entrance, turning a sharp corner to the door that opened to the elevator that led up to the apartments.

* * *

Her world a hazy swath of colour and darkness, it felt like she was dreaming. But not like her normal dreams. A pounding headache still had its hold on her as she jostled about, floating from one reality to the next. The horrible smell of cologne left her nostrils and soon the colourful lights and pounding beats gave away to cool darkness and street noise. She thought she heard the sound of a door opening, a ding of an elevator… then it was dark again.

* * *

Keeping his arm around her waist, Dave led her up to his apartment. He kept throwing glances down at her bobbing head to see if she was still breathing, she hadn't made a sound. Pausing before the door, he struggled with his keys for a moment, having to get it from his pocket and in the lock with one hand while balancing the girl on his other arm. The blonde could just hear his Bro's mocking tone cracking jokes about him bringing a drugged girl up the apartment. A lot of perplexed, accusing, and even jeering looks would be directed at the odd pair if any of his neighbors were to poke out their heads in the hallway. Finally, he fit the key into the lock and opened the door to the two bedroom apartment. The city sounds wear a faint echo below, as Bro's and his apartment was located on the top level. He kicked the door closed behind him, hearing the click, and then shuffled over to the couch.

"Dammit!"

he cursed. The couch was completely covered with his Bro's creepy-ass puppets. Lil Cal stared at Dave from the top of the pile as if to say, "No room bitch, no room." Sighing, he shuffled to his room, flipped on his lights, and hobbled over to his bed. His arms were starting to cramp when he gently removed the girl from his shoulder, and laid her on his bedspread; her legs dangled over the edge, toes of her shoes brushing the floor. Dave began to stand back up when he saw her eyes snap open, their hue a brilliant green, staring at him wide-eyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Light flooded her vision as Jade suddenly snapped out of the blackness. Her eyes adjusted quickly and she found herself staring into deep crimson eyes less than a foot away from her face. He (she guessed it was a 'he' from the smell of him) almost looked as surprised as she was, but his shock was quickly masked behind a neutral expression. He stood up to his full height, still in her line of vision, his pale blonde hair reflected the bright light on the ceiling. Questions began to flood her mind.

'Who is he? I've never seen him before. Does he go to my school? Where am I? Oh god where am I?'

She knew she wasn't at the club, where she had just been moments ago.

'What happened?'

She remembered having a pounding headache, then… oh.

She blacked out.

Someone had caught her from falling. She remembered voices. Jade was about to ask him what happened and where she was, but she couldn't speak. She tried again. Her mouth didn't even move. She began to panic and tried to sit up. Not even a twitch from her finger. She was paralyzed.

'Ohmygodohymygod. I can't move. I can't talk. Why? Why can't I?"

The blonde left her field of vision, when she realized she was lying on a bed... NOT her bed. The strange guy's bed. She went into full-on panic mode, her mind racing at what was happening. She couldn't move, couldn't talk, and was lying on her back on a stranger's bed. He re-entered her field of vision, looking at her.

'Oh my god. I'm going to be raped. I can't move. He must have put something in my drink while I was talking! I'm such an idiot! Why?! Oh my god! Why_ me_?!'

She tried in vain to move, to do _something,_ pushing all of her will power behind her efforts.

Nothing.

Panic, fear, and desperation clawed at her chest.

'I'm going to be raped oh god… I'm going to be raped!'

Her vision blurred and she felt tears well up and began to run down the sides of her pale face.

* * *

Dave was taken off-guard at her surprised gaze, but quickly calmed down, relieved that she was conscious at least. She continued to stare silently at him as he stood up from leaning over her. Meeting her silence, he assumed she was still "waking up" a bit and turned, leaving the room. He locked the front door, took off his shoes, threw his keys on the counter and then headed back into his room. He glanced at her to check that she was still conscious before turning to grab a chair from in his room to sit on. Dave turned back and began to sit down but froze when he saw tears begin to stream down her face.

"Whoa… shit."

The quip escaped his lips as he stood back up in surprise.

'Are you ok?' he almost asked. 'Of course she's not ok dumbass' he chided to himself.

Unsure of what to do, he stood there, leaning forward slightly, and searched her face for answers; as she still was not talking. Her eyes met with his, wide and full of terror. Perplexed, and disturbed by her fear, he though she may be hallucinating or something was medically wrong with her, in addition or caused by the drug. A question formed at his lips and he reached a hand towards her when the girl flinched. Dave halted his movement, surprised by the sudden twitch, and confused by her still terrified gaze which was now fixated on his hand.

Then it hit him, like a freight train.

He threw up his hands up in an 'I surrender' stance , palms open and facing towards her, and leaned back all the while mentally smacking himself repeatedly in the head for being so dense.

" Whoa! Hey, I'm not the bastard here! There is no fucking way I'd sink so low as to drug a chick to get pussy."

'Fuck! I sound like an idiot!'

The girl still looked at him… now with a confused and wary stare. She still looked a little paicked. And still no talking.

"Look. I frequent the club you were at, it's like my second home and I DJ there sometimes. I saw that you were kind of a newbie, so I kept tabs on you because you looked kind of oblivious."

"No offense." He quickly added.

'This story sounds like bullshit!'

He voiced his thoughts.

"Yeah. I know this sounds like a load of horse shit, but the bar tender is practically my uncle... so I kind of help keep an eye out in the place and shit."

He shifted his stance, then gestured an arm out in a shrug.

"But anyways, the name is Dave, Dave Strider… and since you currently can't talk, I can either guess your name till monkeys fly or just look at your ID and solve this mystery."

He reached towards her small bag that was plopped beside her on the bed. He paused, meeting her eyes.

"Don't flip your shit, I'm not going to do anything, ok?"

She seemed to relax a bit, which he took as a sign of trust for the moment. Opening her small bag he fished her ID out of her wallet and glanced at it.

'Jade Harley… huh…'

He saw on the ID that she also was attending one of the neighboring technology schools. Her driver's license showed she was out of state… Waaaaaaaay out of state. He returned her wallet to her purse.

"So Jade…" He mulled over her name for a moment before continuing. "I don't know how long it will be until the drug wears off… I don't know how much or what that fucker even gave you…"

His voice took on a dark tone, seething with disgust as he looked off to the side of his room for a moment before turning his gaze back to her.

"Don't worry, my uncle carded the guy, so he'll get shit for what he pulled."

'He might get a visit from me if he ever decides to show his face again.' He thought darkly.

Dave grabbed the chair, sliding it to him and sat down, and lightened his tone.

"So… you might be stuck here for a bit until you can talk and sort of function."

He leaned back to glance at the clock.

"It's almost 3 in the morning… I suggest you try and sleep it off."

Her gaze turned to one of slight embarrassment.

"Don't worry, just crash there. I swear my sheets are clean."

He shuffled himself in the butterfly chair.

"I'll just crash here, it's no prob. Oh! And your friends have my number, so they know where you are. I'll be able to take you back… wherever, your dorm? When you're feeling ok."

There was a pause of silence. Still no talking.

Dave cleared his throat.

"So, yeah. Um… Do you want me to take off your shoes…? Those look like a hella nightmare to sleep in…"

He got barely a nod, or at least what he thought was a sign of approval. Getting off of his chair, he knelt by her dangling legs and undid the tiny straps that held her wedges on. After both rested to the floor, he stood back up and sat back in his chair.

"Ok, so don't worry about me creepin up on you or anything. My Bro is out of town, so you don't have to worry about his naked ass showing up here suddenly either. Just konk out for a few hours… I'll be here chilling when you wake up."

Dave got up from his chair and flicked off the lights. From the cracks in the blinds, the city light streamed in and gave striped illumination to the room. He returned to his seat and shuffled about a bit, trying to find a comfortable position to catch a few "Zs" in while he waited for Jade to wake up.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Sorry for the wait! I was away on vacation with my family, and had a spell of writers block. So here is the 4th chapter! The next will be soon to follow~ -AR**_

_**p.s. I'd looooooove to hear some feedback from you guys about the story. Good or bad. :)  
**_

* * *

Her vision blurred as tears continued to well up in her eyes. The light on the ceiling fractured into a webs of light, marring her vision. She didn't care to blink away her tears to clear her sight. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to witness what would happen to her... how he would abuse her and get off on her helplessness. If only she could will herself into unconsciousness, so she didn't have to feel anything, didn't have to hear anything. Greif, loathing, and despair rolled through her, replacing her initial horror and panic with an endless void. Jade had _tried_ to move, she fought for control, but she was helpless to put up any resistance… she was trapped, her own body betrayed her.

Jade blinked a she heard a surprised whisper to the side of her.

A creaking of a chair sounded and the fractured light was blotted out by platinum hair. He was leaning over her again. She darted her eyes to his face, searching for his intentions. He looked… concerned. She stared up at him until movement caught her eye. His hand was moving towards her! A scream of terror shouted in her mind and she flinched involuntarily. His outreached hand stopped its movement towards her, as if the force of her gaze held it there barely a foot from her.

For a moment, they hung frozen in tense silence.

Something in his mind clicked, she saw it in his face. He moved back, hands rising away from her.

" Whoa! Hey, I'm not the bastard here! There is no fucking way I'd sink so low as to drug a chick to get pussy."

'...What?'

Jade was caught off guard, by his barrage of vulgarity coupled with his statement. He… he didn't drug her? It was a hopeful thought, too good to be true. But he could also be lying through his teeth, messing with her head to get her guard down. But… she was already incapacitated so… why-?

"Look. I frequent the club you were at, it's like my second home and I DJ there sometimes. I saw that you were kind of a newbie, so I kept tabs on you because you looked kind of oblivious."

So he was watching her?! He watched her and found the opportunity to slip something in her drink! He was right about her being a "newbie" though… and he took advantage of it!

"No offense." He quickly added.

She took offense.

If she could she would have rolled her eyes and socked him in the face right there for the BS that was coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah. I know this sounds like a load of horse shit, but the bar tender is practically my uncle so I kind of help keep an eye out in the place and shit."

This story kept getting better and better… but- he sounded sincere. She studied him… he was keeping his distance from her, voice low and steady, as if he was trying to reassure her he wasn't dangerous. Well… he hadn't done anything to her… _yet_. She paused in her thoughts… he actually seemed to be a little flustered.

"But anyways, the name is Dave, Dave Strider..."

'Dave….' She mulled over his name for a bit. Was he trying to pull some James Bond level aloofness with how he introduced himself?

"… and since you currently can't talk, I can either guess your name till monkeys fly or I can just look at your ID and solve this mystery."

He proceeded to lean over her, reaching out for her bag that she just became aware of resting beside her on the bed. She felt her fear and anxiety rise again; she watched him like a hawk. He paused and looked at her reassuringly.

"Don't flip your shit, I'm not going to do anything, ok?"

She mentally sighed, and retorted.

'Ok… it's not like I can do anything else…'

She calmed herself … trusting him for now. He paused for a moment before moving again. Lying there, observing, was all she could do at the moment as he hovered over her and rifled through her purse. Now that he was closer to her, she could see that freckles dotted his sun-kissed skin, primarily on his nose and cheeks. He had some sort of colongne on... Old Spice or something like that. His moving shoulders paused for a minute, she assumed he was looking at her ID now, before moving again. _  
_

"So Jade…"

Dave drew himself upright as he spoke her name.

"I don't know how long it will be until the drug wears off… I don't know how much or what that fucker gave you…"

The venom in his voice pierced her, stirring her own rage towards what had happened… the suddenness of it surprised her. Even though he wasn't looking directly at her, the seething disgust in his eyes and face was prevalent.

"Don't worry… my uncle carded the guy, so he'll get shit for what he pulled."

'Good.'

Righteous fury rolled through her mind, though she felt that the punishment given wasn't enough. Frankly, she wanted whoever did this to her to have his ass thrown in jail. A punch to the face and a kick to the balls felt like righteous justice too. She would gladly deliver.

"So… you might be stuck here for a bit until you can talk and sort of function."

'Well, yeah. I can't exactly catch a bus back to my dorm like this.'

The harsh sarcasm bled through her simmering mood. Too bad he couldn't hear her; he might have laughed at her snippy commentary. She surmised her assumption of his personality from the Sparky quips he'd thrown around so far.

"It's almost 3 in the morning… I suggest you try and sleep it off."

'Um… sleep….here?'

Granted, she was pretty exhausted from everything that had happened today but… she wasn't exactly sure about sleeping in a strange bed. Let alone a guy's bed- a guy she had just met who she thought had drugged her and was going to rape her but apparently seemed to be a nice guy who swooped in like a knight or something and saved her from being dragged off to some dark alleyway and had taken her up to his apartment and made sure she was okay just because he noticed her coming into a club which he was at a lot. God, she was embarrassed.

"Don't worry, just crash there. I swear my sheets are clean.

If she could, she would have face-palmed at that comment. Oh god she hoped she wasn't blushing.

"I'll just crash here, it's no prob. Oh! And your friends have my number, so they know where you are. I'll be able to take you back… wherever, your dorm? When you are feeling ok."

'Oh yeah…' She almost forgot about her "friends". She felt resentment towards them rise in her mind but she pushed it away. It wasn't their job to look after her… they were out to have fun, not to babysit a country girl in the big city. Crap, she felt guilty towards them now too. She hoped she hadn't worried them... because of her carelessness.

Dave went silent for a bit, sitting there as if waiting for her response. He twiddled his thumbs then cleared his throat.

"So, yeah. Um… Do you want me to take off your shoes…? Those look like a hella nightmare to sleep in…"

Jade attempted to look down at her shoes, only to see her knees peaking out from beneath her dress. Well… she wasn't _uncomfortable_. She found his request kind of odd… and a tad charming, that he'd think of that. Mentally she shrugged.

'Ok…. I guess.'

She attempted to give a nod of approval, barely managing to twitch her head. He disappeared from her view as he knelt, and she felt his fingers at the straps of her shoes. She tensed at his touch, still uncomfortable with the current status of his mobility and her immobility. Dave handled each small buckle deftly, gently holding both shoe and foot as she felt each one come off. He stood back up and returned to the red butterfly char that was to the side of the room.

"Ok, so don't worry about me creepin' up on you or anything. My Bro is out of town, so you don't have to worry about his naked ass showing up here suddenly either. Just konk out for a few hours… I'll be here chilling when you wake up."

He had a brother? Ok... She wondered at the choice of words he had used to describe said "Bro" but pushed that detail to the side. Dave stood up and turned off the lights, causing stripes to appear in the room from the filtered light through the blinds. Her eyes followed his dark form back to the chair were he sat, shuffled a bit, then soon went slack. She felt a little bad about taking his bed as she heard him breathe deeply, snoring a bit. He was going to have a hell of neck-ache when he woke up.

Jade lay there, gazing at the ceiling and tried to relax. This whole fiasco seemed pretty odd. Why would he save her? She was incredible grateful for his involvement, no doubt about that. She shuddered at the thought of how close she had come to having something truely horrible done to her. She was lucky… sooooooo lucky. The type of chivalry, (as coarse and slightly awkward as it was) Dave had shown to her was exceedingly rare nowadays. People usually just stuck to their own business, and if they did get involved, there would be some kind of gain in it for them. She looked again at Dave's huddled form in the dark before shutting her heavy eyelids.

'Why would you be interested in me?'


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: Hello and welcome to my new readers and to all who have stuck with the story thus far! And an extra special thank you to all who have left me a review! It really means a lot to me when I hear from you guys. ;) This fic is nearly done.. I have another two or three chapters planned to wrap it up. It will be slow going though as my Fall Semester class start tomorrow (And I have a pretty crazy busy schedule) X_X Bear with my slowness my lovelies, and share the story if ya think someone might like it! -AR_**

**_Warning for Jade's nightmare_**

* * *

Dave passed out pretty quickly once he got into a semi-comfortable position in his chair, which was only a slight challenge. He'd fallen asleep in his beloved chair many times before when pulling all-nighters to finish games on his Xbox, or lyrics to his sick beats. The only complication to sleeping in it now was that he'd grown a lot since he'd received it at 13. His dream-self woke as he slipped into REM. As usual, tunes began to orchestrate themselves in his head… he wrote, re-wrote, and mixed a number of songs. What wasn't normal was this feeling of being watched. He looked up from his turntables and pivoted to see a girl in a spring dress sitting on his bed, flipping through pages of music spread on there. She looked up at him. Piercing green eyes seemed to bore into him, and he felt kind of uncomfortable with her going through his unfinished stuff. He stared back at her, frozen in place by her searching gaze.

* * *

Swirls of colour and pounding noise greeted Jade when she finally fell to sleep. She floated right down into the chaotic club she was dragged from earlier that evening. Everything was blurred, the colours so unnaturally saturated it made her feel ill. Black forms swarmed about her, rushing to and fro. Her mind vaguely registered that those were people. She glanced around, confused… and lost. A drink suddenly appeared in her hand and she looked at it, surprised. Cautiously she sniffed it. It was her favorite margarita… she took a drink. When her lips pulled away, the cup burst into a white powder which ran through her fingers. Jade jumped in surprise, and then a pounding headache took hold of her. She cried out in pain and began to collapse. Before she could hit the ground she felt herself be snatched up suddenly around the middle. Her head spun from the sudden movement and she heard dark laughter echo in her head. She shivered at the sound, fear rising in her mind as the shadowy figure continued to carry her away into darkness. She felt scared… oh so scared, and she had never been afraid of the dark.

"Please put me down."

Her voice shook from the force of the figure's steps. He only laughed in return and continued to run through the darkness. Jade began to writhe, in attempt to free herself from his grasp. He only gripped her tighter around the middle, squeezing her so tightly that she gasped, the air rushing from her lungs; she was stuck over his shoulder. She felt a hand begin wandering up her legs, roving up her thighs and backside with rough strokes. She shrieked and began kicking her legs. The hand was removed, but she was flung to the ground. Her head smacked painfully against the ground and she saw stars. Once her head stopped ringing, Jade moved to get up but found herself paralyzed. She stared in horror, blood running cold; the figure loomed above her, his silhouette standing out against the surrounding darkness. Panicking, crying silently for escape, she lay there helplessly on the cold surface. Another chuckle sounded and she felt something groping at her breast. It caressed her roughly, pinching and prodding at her through her clothes. The hand was joined by another, both pressing into her sides and stomach, over her thighs, then moved down to the ends of her dress, and yanked it up. Fingers crept up her shivering thighs to the band of her panties, and took hold of them just below her navel, before ripping them off her body. Jade whimpered, tears beginning to stream down her face as she lay there like a rag doll, motionless as the figure pinched her inner thighs and spread her legs. In her head, screams of despair rang.

'Oh god, please stop. Please, please please! Somebody! Somebody please! Help! Help me! Someone please help me!'

Jade felt him press against her core just as she managed to emit a ragged scream.

The shout was so intense it jarred her senses and shattered the dream. Light overcame the darkness as her eyes snapped open. Everything around her blurred in the faint light. Slowly she brought her trembling hand up to her face and brushed her cheek.

'Wet…'

She was crying. Lying, curled on her side, she began to try and calm herself down from the nightmare. After a few moments of breathing and reassuring herself it was just a dream, she shakily moved her arms underneath her, and slowly pushed herself up, staring blankly at her hands. Her hair fell about her in tangles as she slowly rose to a sitting position. She kept her hands on the bed, hunched over as she stared at the unfamiliar bedcovers beneath her. Her fingers flexed against the soft fabric, as she stared, puzzled.

"What…"

A faint whisper croaked from her throat and she looked around the dim room slowly with uneasiness in her gut. Unfamiliar posters and pictures on the wall, a complex looking machine, sheets of music, a desk… Her eyes continued to roam around the room, passing over the partly open door to bookshelves along the wall facing her. A bolt of shock went through her body as her eyes beheld a guy draped over a bright red butterfly chair, completely zonked out. She sat there, staring at him with growing fear, until something in her brain clicked.

"Oh…"

She breathed a surprised quip, her racing heart slowing.

'It's … '

She closed her eyes, face scrunching up in concentration, fighting for the blonde's name. Her green eyes opened and stared at him as the name came to her.

"Dave."

* * *

He finally got fed up with the staring contest.

"Who are you?"

The raven- haired girl opened her mouth as if to answer, but closed it and remained silent.

Dave was confused and perturbed by the strange girl's silence, and because of the itching feeling in his head that he knew her. He turned back to his music, to collect himself a bit. There was a growing pain in the back of his neck. He knew her… but from where? He massaged his neck as he thought, then turned back to the girl. Dave jumped and yelped. The girl was inches from his face, green eyes drilling into him.

In the waking world, Dave inhaled sharply as he awoke suddenly. Aches followed soon after he gained consciousness, and he cracked his neck as he began to sit up. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He about jumped through the ceiling when he saw the same green eyes staring at him.

"Oh! Hey."

His voice was thick with sleep when he spoke in surprise. Of course he knew her! She was the girl that got drugged at the club, and then he brought her to his apartment.

'What was her name again?'

He shuffled through names in his mind.

'It started with a 'J'…'

Dave sat up to stretch, back cracking, and glanced to see the girl's gaze hadn't wavered. She still must be waking up too.

'Jane? No… Joey? Joanne? Jennifer? No, no, no… uh.'

He glanced at her wide sleepy eyes.

'Bright green… Jade! Jade green!'

Relieved that he now remembered her name, he finished stretching then turned to her and drawled.

"Mornin'… "

Her mouth opened, and a dry rasp came out. She blushed and cleared her throat, then spoke again, softly.

"Good morning…"


End file.
